As the World Dies Read Online Free PDF Page A

he had felt the day before was swelling into an overwhelming fear and he struggled to gain control of it.
        
        The front door of the house suddenly slammed open and he let out a yelp and almost fell backwards over a chair. Pepe began to bark furiously and Mrs. Waskom appeared in the doorway to the parlor looking flushed and agitated.
        
        "You need to leave," she said bluntly. "Now. I'm leaving with my kids to join my husband at Fort Hood and I'm closing the bed and breakfast."
        
        "My girlfriend left without me," Eric said softly.
        
        Mrs. Waskom blinked then said, "Damn. You had a fight?"
        
        "Something like that." Eric picked up Pepe, but held onto the poker. "Why are you leaving?"
        
        "My husband called and told me its getting worse. It's spreading, whatever it is, people going crazy, attacking each other." She hesitated. "He said I needed to get to Fort Hood before this thing explodes. He says they can't get it under control."
        
        His throat felt painfully dry and he swallowed hard. "I noticed on the TV that the higher population areas are having a lot more trouble. You might be safer out here."
        
        She laughed in response. "Sorry, but I'd rather take my chances with a fort full of armed soldiers than stay out in the middle of nowhere."
        
        Eric shifted Pepe in his arms and said, "I don't have anywhere to go. I have three hundred dollars in cash and my credit cards. If you can let me stay here, I can watch over the bed and breakfast and the barn until you get back."
        
        Mrs. Waskom hesitated then said, "Look, you could come with us."
        
        He considered this for a moment, but the memory of the map that showed all the violence came to mind again. "I'd rather stay here. You can charge me for my stay."
        
        "I have Felipe putting the horses out in the pasture along with bales of hay. They'll be fine until I get back. But…" She pondered the offer again. "I guess you can stay. Seeing as you don't have a car and the bus that comes through town isn't coming today…"
        
        Eric sighed with relief. "Thank you."
        
        "Let me show you where everything is," Mrs. Waskom said and then held out her hand.
        
        He was confused for a moment then realized what she was waiting for. He quickly took out all his cash from his wallet and handed her two of his credit cards. Her fingers snapped around the items and she shoved them in her jeans.
        
        "I'll make this fast," she said.
        
        In ten minutes, he understood where all the food was, the emergency generator, the fuse box, the propane tank and the emergency gun.
        
        "I don't think you'll need it, but just in case," she said.
        
        Pepe curled up against his chest during the entire tour, looking pensive and a little sleepy. Eric felt much the same way. Finally, Mrs. Waskom ran out to her car packed with kids and Eric shut the door. He listened to the car roar away and then the world returned to a state of eerie silence.
        
        Slowly, he trudged back up the stairs to the bedroom and flipped on the TV. Holding Pepe tightly, he flopped down on the bed and turned on the TV.
        
        "…and the Fort Worth area report increasing violence and residents are advised to stay home, close your doors, and stay put until the authorities determine the safest location for you to go to. Emergency Rescue Centers are being set up, but as the infected escalate in numbers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine which areas are actually safe in the cities."
        
        Eric watched with morbid fascination as the footage of bloodied, crazed people rampaging through various cities flashed on the screen. A warning label in the corner of the screen that announced scenes of a disturbing nature amused him.